“Although the days are busy and the workload is always growing, there are still those special moments when someone says or does something and you know you’ve made a difference in someone’s life.” – Diane McKenty, Nurse and Caregiver
When a loved one is diagnosed with a debilitating and heart wrenching illness, we all process the reality differently. For some there’s incredible anger, while others go through long periods of denial.
But eventually, your heart opens wide with immense compassion and unconditional love, when it becomes apparent that our time here on this earth is not infinite.
Oftentimes when illness strikes, compassionate individuals will immerse themselves in information and education surrounding the situation. I suspect this is done in an effort to provide empathy towards our loved ones – so they never feel as though they’re going through the battle alone.
And while this information is invaluable and necessary at the start of a person’s illness, there’s one thing which cannot be learned.
As painful as this time will undoubtedly be to cope through, it is important that you pull an invaluable lesson from the experience, thus honoring the person suffering day in and day out.
That lesson is simple really – be more humble, more loving, more compassionate, more forgiving and more appreciative for the rest of your days.
Regardless of your comfort level, you owe it to your loved one’s to be more grateful for your existence and the people who share it with you. To realize the frailty of life and how quickly our plans can take a rather unexpected turn.
But perhaps more importantly, remember to love more than you’re used to, for as Mother Theresa once said, “It is not how much you do, but how much love you put in the doing.”
Educating yourself about a loved one’s illness is necessary at the beginning, and somewhat futile towards the end.
But if the entire process hasn’t caused you to change anything about how you appreciate and perceive this life, I question your intentions.
For as Dalai Lama once said, “If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.”